Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 202 Whose child is it!? — Euron's!?

After setting up camp for the night.

Ariane finally voiced the question that had been weighing on her mind. She leaned closer to Ilya, her voice low but filled with worry: "Aunt—you can't really be—"

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"Don't talk nonsense!" Ilya interrupted her abruptly, her fingers unconsciously clenching her dress until her knuckles turned white.

Arianne's expression grew increasingly grave. She nodded solemnly, "Yes, don't worry, I will keep my mouth shut."

Just then, the carriage curtain was suddenly flung open, and Oberyn nimbly leaned into the carriage. His sharp eyes immediately caught the unusual atmosphere between the two: "What do you mean by keeping quiet? What happened?"

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Arianne bit her lip, and as if she had made up her mind, she blurted out, "Auntie must be pregnant!"

'

In an instant, the carriage fell into dead silence.

Oberyn's pupils contracted slightly, his expression frozen on his face. Ilya lowered her head deeply, one hand unconsciously touching her lower abdomen, her long eyelashes casting a fragile shadow on her pale face.

In the swaying light and shadow, only the sound of wheels rolling over the road and the heavy breathing of the three people could be heard.

Oberyn's face instantly darkened, like the surface of Dorne before a storm. He stared intently at Ilya, his voice low and sharp: "Really?"

Ilya remained silent, only turning her face further into the shadows of the carriage.

Arianne couldn't help but interject, her tone urgent: "Of course it's true! How could it be false? Before we even arrived in Harrenhal, my aunt often suffered from unexplained nausea and loss of appetite, but she always forbade me to tell anyone—" Her voice suddenly lowered, tinged with resentment and heartache, "I never imagined things would turn out this way with Rhaegar—"

Oberyn seemed completely oblivious to Ariane's subsequent words. His gaze remained fixed on Ilya as he repeated the question, each word seemingly squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Are you really pregnant?"

The carriage fell into a deathly silence, with only the monotonous sound of wheels rolling over the road and the heavy, almost suffocating silence between the three people.

Ilya's face was as pale as fresh snow, but she finally raised her head to meet Oberyn's sharp gaze, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "Yes."

Oberon's brow furrowed even more. He leaned forward and pressed, "Whose?"

'

Arianne nearly jumped up excitedly: "Who else could it be? Of course it's Prince Rhaegar—"

'

Ilya lowered her head slightly and remained silent.

Oberyn's voice was as cold as ice: "You told me yourself that since giving birth to Rhaenys, you have been weak and have lived separately from Rhaenys, never sharing a room again, and not even seeing each other for months at a time. The two siblings have been together since childhood, and they can be said to be able to talk about anything and have no secrets. Even such private matters, Ilya has never hidden from him."

Arianne quickly retorted, "Well, there's always one or two times, isn't there—"

"From the time you left Dragonstone and returned to Dorne, and then from Dorne to Harrenhal, until now," Oberyn's voice was like a judge delivering a verdict, "you calculate how much time has passed in between."

'

Arianne hesitated, calculating: "Three or four months, I guess—"

'

Oberon's gaze was as sharp as a dagger as he stared intently at Ilya: "And now? How long has this child been pregnant?"

'

The air inside the carriage seemed to freeze, leaving only this question echoing in the cramped space, pounding on everyone's heart.

Ilya said calmly: "Don't ask anymore. I'll tell you when I've thought it through, I promise."

Oberyn's face was terribly grim, but he ultimately suppressed his surging emotions and chose to respect Ilya's silence.

After a moment of thought, Arianne suddenly widened her eyes as if struck by something.

She suddenly remembered that unsettling night—that late night when she tiptoed out of Euron's room and nearly bumped into someone.

By the dim torchlight of the corridor, she was horrified to discover that the person was Ilya. Arianne was filled with shame and repeatedly begged her aunt not to tell anyone. Ilya said nothing, but silently helped her unsteady niece back to her bedroom.

As Elia was about to leave, Arianne realized with a start that she had inadvertently left her underwear and several pieces of personal jewelry in Euron's room. Ashamed to return, she begged Elia to retrieve them for her.

Ilya hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.

It wasn't until the following morning that Ilya returned the embarrassing items to Ariane. Ilya's expression was unusually strange, her eyes flickering, as if she had experienced something unspeakable—

Arianne's breathing quickened suddenly, a terrible thought rising in her mind. She looked at Ilya in disbelief, her voice trembling: "Could it be that night—"

'

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.

Arianne's breathing quickened suddenly. She gripped Ilya's arm tightly, her voice trembling with shock: "Was it Euron? That night—"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Ilya abruptly pulled her hand back, a hint of panic flashing across her pale face.

"It must be him! I'm sure of it!" Arianne pressed on desperately, the terrible thought almost suffocating her.

A flicker of pain crossed Ilya's eyes. She lowered her voice and said urgently, "Ashara is his fiancée! If you speak nonsense, how will they face each other?"

These words struck like a thunderbolt in the cramped carriage. Arianne was speechless. She realized then that this secret involved not only the reputations of two people, but the fates of four. She stared blankly at her aunt, finally understanding why Ilya preferred to bear it all alone rather than reveal this secret.

Oberyn watched the conversation in silence, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two men, his expression growing increasingly somber.

Oberyn's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, was fixed on Ilya's pale face. His voice was low and restrained: "So, what do you plan to do now?"

Ilya remained silent, her fingertips unconsciously tightening the hem of her dress, as if trying to wring all her unspeakable sorrow into the soft fabric.

"I learned how to prepare medicine when I was studying medicine at the Citadel," Oberyn's voice softened slightly, "and I know how to make Moon Tea."

Ilya's hand unconsciously went to her lower abdomen, a subtle movement that made her appear incredibly vulnerable. A tender maternal light flashed in her eyes, only to be replaced by deep pain.

After a long silence, Oberyn sighed, his tone becoming unusually serious: "But I think that, in any case, you should tell Euron about this before making any decisions."

Ilya looked up abruptly, a flicker of panic in her eyes: "Now? On this road?"

'

“No,” Oberyn shook his head, his gaze fixed on the scenery rushing past the car window, “Once we get to Dorne and back to Sunspear, you’ll have plenty of time and space to deal with this.”

The carriage continued its bumpy journey, and the silence inside was more deafening than any words could be spoken.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated as the caravan prepared to depart. When Oberyn saw Euron approaching on horseback, his face instantly darkened to the deepest shadow of Dorne.

Euron nodded to him as usual, with his signature lazy smile on his lips. However, Oberyn seemed not to see him at all. He suddenly spurred his horse, and the horse neighed and charged forward, kicking up dust that almost covered Euron.

Euron reined in his horse, watching Oberyn's departing figure, and raised an eyebrow in confusion, completely baffled as to what was wrong with the Prince of Dorne today.

What puzzled him even more was that as he and Ashara rode side by side, they happened to pass by the window of Arianne's carriage. The Dornish princess had just lifted the curtain when she saw him, immediately snorted coldly, rolled her eyes at him without any politeness, and slammed the curtain down heavily.

Euron stood there, stroking his chin. He turned to Ashara beside him and shrugged helplessly: "Did I offend the entire Dorne without even realizing it?"

In the morning light, only the rustling of the wind through the treetops could be heard; no one answered his question.

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